Google Docs and Google Workspace include a tracking feature known as the “Activity Dashboard.” If you are collaborating on a document with coworkers or classmates, this dashboard allows the owner of the document to see exactly who has viewed the file, what time they opened it, and how often they have looked at it. It is essentially a read receipt for entire documents.
While administrators love this feature for tracking engagement, you may find it to be an uncomfortable invasion of your privacy. You might want to reference a shared document late at night or double-check a detail without triggering a notification that you are actively working. Fortunately, Google allows individual users to opt out of this tracking entirely.
Disabling Your View History Globally
If you disable this setting, your name will never appear in anyone’s Activity Dashboard across any document, spreadsheet, or presentation in your Google Drive.
- Open your web browser and navigate to Google Docs (docs.google.com).
- Click the Hamburger menu (the three horizontal lines) in the top-left corner of the screen.
- Select Settings from the dropdown menu.
- A settings window will appear in the centre of your screen. Look at the left-hand sidebar of this window and click on Activity dashboard.
- You will see a setting labelled Show your view history.
- Click the toggle switch next to it to turn it Off.
The change is applied immediately. Even if your boss specifically checks the dashboard of a document you just opened, your view will be completely invisible.
Disabling View History for a Specific Document
If you generally do not mind the tracking but want to remain anonymous on one specific, highly sensitive document, you can disable it on a per-file basis.
- Open the specific document you wish to view anonymously.
- Look at the main menu bar at the top of the screen and click on Tools.
- Select Activity dashboard from the dropdown menu.
- A large pop-up window will appear. Look at the top-right corner of this window and click the Gear icon (Settings).
- Under the “Document setting” section, turn Off the toggle switch labelled “Show your view history for this document.”
This allows you to maintain your privacy on a case-by-case basis while still participating normally in the rest of your Workspace environment.